Fall River
- nps.gov
- Estes Park
About
Fall River runs through Horseshoe Park, the wide, flat meadow just inside the Fall River Entrance. It's an easy place to watch water do what water does in the mountains, and the start of Old Fall River Road. Bring patience for the elk traffic, not a fishing plan.
Fall River comes through Horseshoe Park on the park's east side, a short drive from the Fall River Entrance. This is inside Rocky Mountain National Park, so the entrance rules apply. Old Fall River Road starts here too: about 11 miles of mostly gravel, one way and uphill, with a 15 mph limit and no guardrails. Just past it, the Endovalley road leads to the Alluvial Fan, where a rebuilt trail was designed to be fully accessible and crosses the Roaring River on a footbridge.
That fan is the river's backstory. In 1982 the earthen dam at Lawn Lake broke and sent a wall of water down this valley, and the boulders you're scrambling around are what it left. I like to read that sign twice. Go early or late for the meadow light and fewer cars. Skip the Alluvial Fan parking on a summer midday, because it's small and everyone has the same idea. Keep your dog in the car or at home, since pets aren't allowed on park trails. Give the elk their space, and the river too. The spring snowmelt is cold and fast.
